NedL
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Hi Everyone,
I'm going to write the story behind my photo and post it here before I go this afternoon and try to make it. This will also force me to post the photo even if it ends up completely fogged or out of focus
The center of public activity in my neighborhood 160 years ago was Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo's Rancho Petaluma Adobe. Vallejo was here with other Californios before California became a state and before the great influx of immigrants from the Eastern US in the 1850's. This was before there was even a town of Petaluma or Santa Rosa, and activity in this area all centered around several Ranchos, of which Vallejo's was the largest: over 60,000 acres or about 100 square miles. Between the late 1830's and 1850's, anywhere between about 500 and 2000 people would have been working and living at the Rancho. The courtyard of the Adobe would have been a center of activity, feeding hundreds of people every day. Baking was done in earthen Spanish beehive ovens called hornos. I'll try to include those in my photograph if I can. Today what is left of the Adobe is a large U-shaped building that encloses half of the courtyard. The building that originally closed in the other half is gone. The rancho produced tallow and leather and lots of food.
I've used these MSAs to try to do or learn something new about where I live. For “transport” I visited an air museum for the first time, for “Salt” I learned about a huge wildlife refuge at a salt marsh. I knew about the Petaluma Adobe already, but had never visited it before, so I want to say thanks to Sly for prompting me to discover something new! I've been there twice scouting viewpoints of the courtyard, but have not found a very good composition, so this is probably going to be more about the fun of visiting the location and trying to make a calotype than getting a great photograph, but I'll do the best I can.
I have been learning about calotypes,and they were contemporary to the time of Vallejo's rancho. The fellow whose process I'm copying, Alexander Greenlaw, was making calotypes in India at the same time that Vallejo's rancho was in full operation with thousands of head of livestock and a large working farm. I don't know if there was anyone in California making calotypes, but there is a book that I'd love to read that seems to suggest there was a lot of activity here in America at the same time photography was developing in the UK and Europe, even though it is not very well known.
I have only made one really successful calotype so far, and I have not tried to make salt prints from any yet, so that's my goal for this MSA. To make a photograph of the courtyard that will be similar to a photograph of its time.
Here are some technical details about the calotype.
I am generally following these great instructions by Robsworld over at flickr:
Wish me luck! It really doesn't matter what happens, this is a lot of fun and it is simply amazing to see an image form on paper you've made yourself. I'll head over to the Adobe in a few hours. If it works that gives me another week to try to make a salt print. If it doesn't, I'll post a scan of the fogged mess....
I'm going to write the story behind my photo and post it here before I go this afternoon and try to make it. This will also force me to post the photo even if it ends up completely fogged or out of focus
The center of public activity in my neighborhood 160 years ago was Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo's Rancho Petaluma Adobe. Vallejo was here with other Californios before California became a state and before the great influx of immigrants from the Eastern US in the 1850's. This was before there was even a town of Petaluma or Santa Rosa, and activity in this area all centered around several Ranchos, of which Vallejo's was the largest: over 60,000 acres or about 100 square miles. Between the late 1830's and 1850's, anywhere between about 500 and 2000 people would have been working and living at the Rancho. The courtyard of the Adobe would have been a center of activity, feeding hundreds of people every day. Baking was done in earthen Spanish beehive ovens called hornos. I'll try to include those in my photograph if I can. Today what is left of the Adobe is a large U-shaped building that encloses half of the courtyard. The building that originally closed in the other half is gone. The rancho produced tallow and leather and lots of food.
I've used these MSAs to try to do or learn something new about where I live. For “transport” I visited an air museum for the first time, for “Salt” I learned about a huge wildlife refuge at a salt marsh. I knew about the Petaluma Adobe already, but had never visited it before, so I want to say thanks to Sly for prompting me to discover something new! I've been there twice scouting viewpoints of the courtyard, but have not found a very good composition, so this is probably going to be more about the fun of visiting the location and trying to make a calotype than getting a great photograph, but I'll do the best I can.
I have been learning about calotypes,and they were contemporary to the time of Vallejo's rancho. The fellow whose process I'm copying, Alexander Greenlaw, was making calotypes in India at the same time that Vallejo's rancho was in full operation with thousands of head of livestock and a large working farm. I don't know if there was anyone in California making calotypes, but there is a book that I'd love to read that seems to suggest there was a lot of activity here in America at the same time photography was developing in the UK and Europe, even though it is not very well known.
I have only made one really successful calotype so far, and I have not tried to make salt prints from any yet, so that's my goal for this MSA. To make a photograph of the courtyard that will be similar to a photograph of its time.
Here are some technical details about the calotype.
I am generally following these great instructions by Robsworld over at flickr:
- Canson Marker paper, cut to 7x11 inches.
- Acidified in distilled white vinegar 1:2 for 1 hour, then washed and dried.
- Iodized in a mixture of KI and KBr for 1 hour, then dried and stored between blotters.
- This morning, sensitized by floating on a bath of AgNO3 and Acetic Acid, then washed in distilled water twice for 5 minutes. Right now the calotype is drying between blotters and it will be ready to try in a few hours.
Wish me luck! It really doesn't matter what happens, this is a lot of fun and it is simply amazing to see an image form on paper you've made yourself. I'll head over to the Adobe in a few hours. If it works that gives me another week to try to make a salt print. If it doesn't, I'll post a scan of the fogged mess....
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